SOLD! A Top Producer's Blueprint for a Standout Real Estate Career

Rosemary Knick

• Publisher: Rosemarie Knick
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780578443676
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Real Estate
• Index: Business

Build financial freedom through real estate sales. Earn as much income as you’d like. Give yourself a raise. Take a vacation when you want to. “Enjoy the people you work with and work for. I did it and you can too!”

"My hope is that after reading this book, you will realize the cost to obtain your license is a small price to pay for a lifelong career doing something you are passionate about. Like any course of study, it will take weeks of your time without pay, however the opportuntiy to run your own business as an independant contractor to reach your income goals is an opportunity not to be missed." Rosemary Knick

This author/broker/trainer hired over 350 realtors to work in her highly productive office with agents’ earnings in the six figures. Her insights will inspire you, make you smile and most of all put you on the right track to a steady pipeline of earnings. Develop personality traits that lead to becoming a top producer in sales. Learn techniques and dialogue that lead to a stream of loyal clients. Learn how to sell properties and price homes in any market and become a skilled negotiator in real estate transactions. Make better use of your time at open houses by turning customers into clients. Get motivated and set goals for a pipe line of business with an income stream to be proud of.

If you are thinking of a career in real estate or wanting to improve your business, read this book! Rosemary lays out the blueprint to put a square peg into a round hole. It will help you see yourself as a well-rounded agent who is able to attract clients and work successfully in the field to become a top producer!

Take advangage of this award winning Realtors knowledge and her years of training and managing real estate agents. Step by step, using the techniques and tips within this book, you will build the confidence and expertise for a thriving, productive and enjoyable real estate career in less than one year! It's like having your own personal mentor. An agent can close just one house a year or over 50 depending on the skills they develop. It's up to you!

“You have my money back guarantee if your business does not dramatically improve or take off after using the tips and techniques found in this book. It’s all here."

Rosemary Knick was a realtor and Broker/Manager for over 25 years. She studied English and Communications at Mankato State University in Minnesota before calling New Jersey and North Carolina home. As a Realtor she worked for Schlott Realtors, Coldwell Banker and Weichert Realtors. A consummate professional she was honored for logging 52 listings and sales within one year plus numerous awards for state, regional, county and office top producer throughout her career. Her optimism and skill grew her office to 80 agents with over 200 million dollars in real estate transactions for one year in Northern New Jersey. Rosemary

1

Are You the Next Top Producer?

Real estate is a sales position. It is not an administrative position and has little to do with understanding construction (you will not have a hammer with you on a sales call). It certainly is not about explaining the law. Unless you go into property management, your first years in real estate will be all about sales. This book concentrates on giving you the mindset to be a top-producing residential sales and listing agent. You will sell houses and list houses as a residential sales agent. There are two questions you will answer early on: 1) Who is a customer? and 2) What makes a customer a client? Throughout this book I will speak about customers and speak about clients. A customer is a person who has no working relationship with the agent. They have not committed to working with the agent in a fiduciary relationship. A client is someone who has acknowledged a working relationship with the agent. This person has signed an agreement to be represented by the brokerage and agent. The brokerage and agent have a fiduciary relationship with this person to buy or list real property.

Have you worked in sales before?

Most of the people I interviewed never worked in sales so I would ask, “Have you ever sold something?” A blank stare with wondering eyes would look back at me. “Did you sell Girl Scout cookies, candy for a school or sports fundraiser, raffle tickets, or a car? Anything?” As a flicker of recognition registered on their faces I’d ask, “How did you feel about that? Did you mind knocking on a door or asking someone to buy the candy?” This type of sales is truly uncomfortable, even for a born salesperson, yet the dread must be overcome by the need to complete the task at hand. Now ask yourself the same questions. Will you be willing to go out of your comfort zone to become a top producer?

My candidates were always willing to move forward with the questioning, nodding that yes, indeed, they did sell something as a kid and “it wasn’t a bad experience.” I assured them that once they were licensed, our sales training program would be combined with my training, plus they would have a seasoned agent working with them as a mentor/partner for their first two transactions.

I hired several men who had previous work experience as engineers. They were all very intelligent, but only one remained an agent for several years. Engineers, like so many other salaried professional employees, have trouble moving from a corporate job to working without a set salary. Working on commission takes a great deal of confidence in yourself to complete the job. I believe a positive attitude and the ability to complete a job with confidence is why an agent can make a six-figure salary and give him- or herself a raise every year without having to ask for it.

There is one engineer in particular that I’m proud to say I hired and trained. I was making cold calls off a pass list from the State of New Jersey. I came to a name that I had never seen before and I didn’t know if it belonged to a man or a woman. I dialed the number and a man answered. I congratulated him on passing the state licensing exam and asked if he knew what he was going to do with his new license. He said, “I’m going to work for you.” I collected my thoughts and responded, “We need to meet to see if our professional business practices match up. Can you come into the office tomorrow? I’ll be happy to tell you how we earn our living and what the next steps are to becoming an agent.”

The next day I welcomed a handsome, soft-spoken gentleman into my office. He told me he was a civil engineer, had been laid off, and thought he would like real estate better. My heart dropped when I heard the word “engineer.” Was he another professional who could not handle working on straight commission? I asked if he had ever sold anything and his answer was no. Despite my skepticism I said, “I’ll send you to our company training and I’ll work with you as long as you do everything I say.”

In his first year of sales he listed and sold eighteen homes; years later he still enjoys his career in real estate. He followed the plan I have laid out in this book for previewing homes, developing dialogue, and building sales skills. He showed me that finding people who worked in retail sales and liked it is a homerun; being able to sell something to others is a plus. But just being able to think like a top-producing agent and do everything you can to become a valuable resource to buyers and sellers will create a career with solid earnings.

Can you manage your time
and multi-task?

Real estate agents work when most people are off and must be able to pick up and go whenever a call comes in. It could be because the right house comes on the market that day or because the client’s time is limited due to their schedule. In any case, you need to have appointments if you are to earn a living in real estate. If you are not available, the client will put their needs before your availability and call another agent.

The client can quickly assess your dedication by how available you are. The main reason part-timers do not make money in real estate is because they have limited hours for servicing the customers. For example, a stay-at-home mom or dad seems like a good candidate for a real estate career, but it only works if you have immediate coverage available to make an appointment within a few hours of the initial call. If a customer’s needs are delayed, they move on to someone else who can help them immediately. Answer the following questions to get a better idea of whether or not you really have the time:

Can you multi-task?

Can you have a party at your house on a Saturday and still find an hour that same day to go on an appointment?

If you get a text from a client who wants to see a house, can you be available to meet with him?

Can you have appointments to show homes at 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. and also fit in dinner?

Can you show up an hour late to meet a friend because clients want you to write up an offer on a house?

What are your time limitations?

Over the years we hear the same lament: An agent gets a call to show a house only to find out the buyer was “working” with another agent. Since that agent wasn’t available, they just want to see it and expect that the agent who listed the house can show it to them. The listing agent is always willing to show their listings. If the buyer wants that house, the listing agent has every right to say that the agent who was not available has no rights to the commission for that transaction.

It is essential that you introduce the client to the property by making the appointment to physically show the house. You are working as an independent contractor according to tax laws. Disputes rarely happen because agents are instructed about procuring cause for earning commissions, but the Board of Realtors sets up mediation and arbitration boards to hear commission disputes if there is one. Procuring cause is a series of events that lead to the accepted contract and eventual closing on the house. Setting up the appointment and showing the house with the intention of selling it is a major factor in settling the dispute. So if you showed five houses and you couldn’t find a time suitable to show the next one they want to see, you could lose the opportunity to be the selling agent.

You also need to have more than one activity in the day to be a top producer. My income rose to six figures when I was able to schedule several appointments in one day. I would think about my son’s football game when I set up the first appointment at 10 a.m. so I could get to the game on time. The game would end at 2 p.m. so my next appointment would be right after that. If I was going out for dinner that night, I would schedule the next appointment before 5 p.m. If I had a morning tennis game, I would schedule several appointments in the afternoon. During my career as a real estate agent, I was able to be on a tennis team for several years, play in a woman’s golf league, and my two sons were well fed, all because I managed my time well.

It takes as much time to fail as it does to succeed. Being a good manager of your time to facilitate the sale is a critical part of this job. A good salesperson will focus on the task at hand, following it through to completion whether it takes two hours, two weeks, or two months. A good deal of time is needed to create paperwork for both listings and sales, and submitting these forms must be done in a time-sensitive manner. Time management includes scheduling appointments for training activities and being on time for all appointments, submitting paperwork in a timely manner, and corresponding with all parties in contract.

Are you good at decision-making?

This job is not about how to pick out paint colors or be good at interior design. It can help, but it won’t be the key to success. This job is not about knowing construction. Home inspectors are licensed to assist with that. This job isn’t about making financial decisions for the clients. They will work with a mortgage specialist. You are dealing with people who are able to purchase a home and quite often have incomes greater than yours. This is a job of teaching and supplying information to help someone make a decision. Buyers and sellers are bombarded with how to buy and sell houses online, on television, and by friends and relatives. But are they getting the information for their local market? Can they come up with pricing without emotional values clouding their information? The buyers and sellers need your help to understand the real estate market at hand, discover the community values, and have the confidence to sit at the closing table.

Your first meeting with the buyer should include market information. Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market in your area? Are there homes in the market that fit the buyer’s or seller’s needs and wants? Can they afford the home of their dreams based on their income? You will help them make a decision by giving them the information they need.

A buyer gives you their wish list and you take time to line up houses for them to see. You bring them to a property in the price range that puts them in their comfort level based on monthly payment. Other factors include:

The area provides a good commute to work.

The home offers the floor plan they want.

The number of baths and bedrooms fits their needs.

They like the neighborhood.

It has extra features they wanted, such as a fireplace and a deck overlooking a beautiful r...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction: There’s Always Room for One More Good Real Estate Agent
• Chapter 1: Are You the Next Top Producer?
• Chapter 2: Get Ready for School
• Chapter 3: Choose an Office
• Chapter 4: Part-Time Versus Full-Time
• Chapter 5: Get the Keys to the Kingdom
• Chapter 6: Build Your Client Base
• Chapter 7: Visualize Your Goals
• Chapter 8: Share Your Business Life
• Chapter 9: Hold a Successful Open House
• Chapter 10: Work With Internet Leads
• Chapter 11: The Buyer Consultation
• Chapter 12: Build Loyalty
• Chapter 13: Develop Your Sales Skills
• Chapter 14: The Seller’s Consultation
• Chapter 15: The First Steps to List a Property
• Chapter 16: Prepare to List the House
• Chapter 17: Negotiate to Close the Title
• Chapter 18: Market for Repeat Business
• Conclusion: Stay Focused
• Index